Civilian witnesses testify in Fernandes trial

Civilian witnesses began testifying Wednesday in the trial of Jose Fernandes, a Taunton man charged with the 2009 murder of Troy Pina.

A woman who said she was a former girlfriend of Marcus Mitchell, 25, a co-defendant, said Mitchell appeared “shocked” and kept saying, “Oh my god,” when she told him of Pina’s murder in the early morning hours of May 17, 2009.

Civilian witnesses began testifying Wednesday in the trial of Jose Fernandes, a Taunton man charged with the 2009 murder of Troy Pina.

A woman who said she was a former girlfriend of Marcus Mitchell, 25, a co-defendant, said Mitchell appeared “shocked” and kept saying, “Oh my god,” when she told him of Pina’s murder in the early morning hours of May 17, 2009.

“He was saying, ‘I can’t believe it,’” the woman testified.

Prosecutors allege that Fernandes, 27, Mitchell and Thomas Jeffreys, 34, all of Taunton, shot at a vehicle in which Pina, 29, of Taunton, was riding on Route 24 southbound in Freetown on May 17, 2009.

Prosecutors said the suspects pulled up in two vehicles and fired several rounds at the car, striking Pina, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Three other people who were driving with Pina were not wounded.

Prosecutors said the shooting was the result of a festering yearlong feud between the defendants, Pina and Francisco Monteiro, 32, a Bourne man who was driving the vehicle in which Pina was riding.

Mitchell’s former girlfriend testified that Mitchell and Pina ran into each other at a Taunton gas station in November 2008, and that they appeared to clear up a “misunderstanding,” shook hands and exchanged phone numbers. On the night of the shooting, the woman testified that she went to sleep and found Mitchell in bed around 5:30 a.m. She did not ask him where he had been earlier, according to her testimony.

Before the fatal shooting, prosecutors said the defendants had shot at, but missed, Monteiro and Pina’s vehicle on Whittenton Street in Taunton. A witness testified Wednesday that she saw two vehicles near the Pioneer Club, 332 Whittenton St., and shots being fired. The witness said she did not see the occupants of either vehicle.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Robert Lima also testified Wednesday that police recovered 45-caliber ammunition and a Glock magazine from Jeffreys’ apartment. Prior to executing the search warrant, Lima said he saw Fernandes outside Jeffreys’ apartment complex, and that Fernandes appeared nervous, guarded and said he wanted to speak with his attorney before interacting with him.

Testimony in Fernandes’ trial will resume today in Fall River Superior Court. Mitchell and Jeffreys are still awaiting trial.